2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
---
2022-11-25 23:54:43 +05:30
stage: Manage
2021-10-27 15:23:28 +05:30
group: Integrations
2022-11-25 23:54:43 +05:30
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
---
# Interactive API documentation
Introduces the interactive documentation tool for the GitLab API.
## About the OpenAPI specification
2021-04-29 21:17:54 +05:30
The [OpenAPI specification ](https://swagger.io/specification/ ) (formerly called Swagger) defines a
standard, language-agnostic interface to RESTful APIs. OpenAPI definition files are written in the
YAML format, which is automatically rendered by the GitLab browser into a more human-readable interface.
2021-09-30 23:02:18 +05:30
For general information about the GitLab APIs, see [API Docs ](../index.md ).
2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
## Overview
2021-04-29 21:17:54 +05:30
<!--
The following link is absolute rather than relative because it needs to be viewed through the GitLab
Open API file viewer: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/repository/index.html#openapi-viewer.
-->
The [interactive API documentation tool ](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/doc/api/openapi/openapi.yaml )
allows API testing directly on the GitLab.com website. Only a few of the available endpoints are
documented with the OpenAPI spec, but the current list demonstrates the functionality of the tool.
2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
## Endpoint parameters
2021-04-29 21:17:54 +05:30
When you expand an endpoint listing, you see a description, input parameters (if required),
2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
and example server responses. Some parameters include a default or a list of allowed values.
2021-04-17 20:07:23 +05:30
## Starting an interactive session
2021-03-11 19:13:27 +05:30
A [Personal access token ](../../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md ) (PAT) is one way to
start an interactive session. To do this, select **Authorize** from the main page, and a
dialog box prompts you to enter your PAT, which is valid for the current web session.
To test the endpoint, first select **Try it out** on the endpoint definition page. Input the parameters
as required, then select **Execute** . In the following example, we executed a request for the `version`
endpoint (no parameters required). The tool shows the `curl` command and URL of the request, followed
by the server responses that are returned. You can create new responses by editing the relevant parameters
and then select **Execute** once again.
